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"They call this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation forming wisps of condensation in the chilly night air. "So many people have disappeared here, many believe it's a portal to a different realm." This expert is guiding a traveler on a evening stroll through commonly known as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient native woodland on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here date back hundreds of years – the grove is named after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But rest assured," he states, addressing the visitor with a smile. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Barring a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius tells some of the folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl going missing during a family outing, only to reappear after five years with no recollection of the events, without aging a single day, her clothes lacking the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports explain smartphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses vary from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim noticing strange rashes on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the trees, or sense palms pushing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the stories may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is undeniably strange. All around are vegetation whose stems are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radiation levels in the earth cause their crooked growth.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's tours enable visitors to engage in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he hands the visitor an EMF meter which detects EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most energetic section of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a location which fuels fantasy, where the line is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting vampires, who rise from their graves to terrorise local communities.

The novelist's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – feels real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a center for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."